Eight Reasons Not Seeing Serenity Will Leave a Gaping Hole in Your Soul

byGreat White Snark| updated onNovember 18, 2007

It’s been two years, already. If you haven’t yet seen Serenity, the movie by Joss Whedon set in the universe of his short-lived television show Firefly, then you might as well roll up an issue of Entertainment Weekly, light it up, and inhale deeply… because you’re clearly not getting a taste for pop culture from any other avenues.

Need convincing?

8) Browncoats (ardent Firefly/Serenity fans) still hold screenings of Serenity in theaters around the country (to benefit charity, no less). Let’s see, what other movies get that treatment… Rocky Horror, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, Rear Window… get the picture? I’m going to mosey out on this limb and say the flick is a classic.

7) You can find Serenity at sea on a “Browncoat Cruise.” Does your favorite movie have a themed, five-day cruise? (No, and When Harry Met Sally never will have a themed cruise, so stop holding your breath.)

5) According to an online poll of over 3,000 respondents, Serenity is the favorite sci-fi movie of the readers of SFX, a sci-fi and fantasy magazine. Star Wars came in second. Seems almost sacrilegious, but there it is.

3) Serenity isn’t just a good sci-fi movie… it’s a good movie. It got a 74 on Metacritic, a site that aggregates and quantifies movie reviews from the most-respected and popular sources. Certainly, none of those blockbusters you’ve enjoyed this summer–Ocean’s 13, Transformers, nor the laughableLive Free or Die Hard—managed to score in the 70s.

2) The Browncoats will convert you. Forcibly, if necessary. And by “forcibly,” I mean by way of a lot of gushing and friendly encouragement. ‘Cause, really, they’re pretty nice folks.

1) Serenity was greenlit by a major Hollywood studio and given a $40 million budget, based on a rabid fanbase and the strength of a TV series unfairly cut short after less than one season. Think maybe there’s something going on there worth checking out?

I think my rubber helmet is on too tight, because I don’t get it. And my head is starting to itch and hurt at the same time.

Never saw Firefly, but Serenity struck me as a well-done, extra-long TV show. The production values, the quality of the acting and the story itself just felt much better suited for the small screen. In conclusion, given the choice, I would definitely choose to watch Starship Troopers again over Serenity.